Abstract:

Objective To establish animal models by implanting Gynemesh polypropylene mesh and Mersilene tape into the abdominal walls of rats， followed by conducting mechanical experiments and performing HE staining on abdominal wall tissues at 30 and 90 days post-implantation， respectively， in order to evaluate the biomechanical properties and histocompatibility of the two types of meshes. Methods The Gynemesh mesh and Mersilene tape were implanted into the abdominal wall of adult female rats （n = 10） using W6977M polyester non-absorbable sutures and V-Loc absorbable sutures. The rats were randomly assigned to either a 30-day group or a 90-day group （n = 5 per group） based on different experimental time points. Mechanical tests were conducted at these time points to evaluate the ultimate load required for avulsion of the meshes from the abdominal wall. Following the mechanical experiments， the tissues surrounding the meshes were harvested for hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining. The inflammatory response， neovascularization， and fibroblast proliferation in the tissues were scored to compare the histocompatibility of the two types of meshes. Results （1） In the 30-day group， the ultimate load values were as follows： Gynemesh + 6977 （14.96 ± 2.22）N， Gynemesh + V-Loc （12.73 ± 1.11）N， Mersilene + 6977 （10.65 ± 0.91）N， and Mersilene + V-Loc （8.70 ± 1.18）N. No statistically significant difference was observed in the ultimate load between the Gynemesh + 6977 and Gynemesh + V-Loc groups （P = 0.12）， whereas statistically significant differences were noted among the other groups （P < 0.05）. （2） In the 90-day group， the ultimate load values were as follows： Gynemesh + 6977 （18.97 ± 0.59）N， Gynemesh + V-Loc （18.18 ± 0.54）N， Mersilene + 6977 （13.87 ± 0.67）N， and Mersilene + V-Loc （10.41 ± 0.73）N. No statistically significant difference was observed in the ultimate load between the Gynemesh + 6977 and Gynemesh + V-Loc groups （P = 0.06）， while statistically significant differences were noted among the other groups （P < 0.05）. （3） The ultimate load at 90 days for each group was significantly greater than that at 30 days， with statistically significant differences observed across all groups （P < 0.05）. （4） In the 30-day group， Gynemesh exhibited a lower inflammatory response compared to Mersilene tape （2.0 ± 0.69 vs. 3.10 ± 0.71， P < 0.05）， with no statistically significant differences in neovascularization or fibroblast proliferation （2.37 ± 0.61 vs. 2.40 ± 0.62， P = 0.84； 2.43 ± 0.73 vs. 2.63 ± 0.67， P = 0.27）. In the 90-day group， Gynemesh demonstrated a lower inflammatory response score （1.10 ± 0.66 vs. 2.00 ± 0.74， P < 0.05）， reduced fibroblast proliferation （2.87 ± 0.68 vs. 3.27 ± 0.67， P < 0.05）， and no significant difference in neovascular proliferation （2.20 ± 0.55 vs. 2.13 ± 0.68， P = 0.68） compared to Mersilene tape. （5） The inflammatory response for both mesh types was higher in the 30-day group compared to the 90-day group （Gynemesh group： 2.0 ± 0.69 vs. 1.10 ± 0.66， P < 0.05； Mersilene group： 3.13 ± 0.73 vs. 2.0 ± 0.74， P < 0.05）. Additionally， the degree of fibroblast proliferation was lower in the 30-day group than in the 90-day group （Gynemesh group： 2.43 ± 0.73 vs. 2.87 ± 0.68， P < 0.05； Mersilene group： 2.63 ± 0.67 vs. 3.27 ± 0.69， P < 0.05）. However， there was no statistically significant difference in neovascularization proliferation between the two groups （Gynemesh group： 2.53 ± 0.74 vs. 2.47 ± 0.74， P = 0.81； Mersilene group： 2.40 ± 0.62 vs. 2.13 ± 0.68， P = 0.12）. Conclusion Compared with Mersilene tape， Gynemesh polypropylene mesh exhibits superior tensile strength and enhanced biocompatibility.

Key words: Gynemesh polypropylene mesh, Mersilene tape, histocompatibility, biomechanics, rat model